“We offered him back to the White Sox, with some discussion about possibly trying to keep him,” said Minnesota general manager Terry Ryan of Doyle, who cleared waivers and posted a 3.07 ERA over 26 starts for Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham last year. “I threw some things at Kenny, he threw some things back just like any of those discussions go. We couldn’t work it out, so we’re sending him back today.”

He needs to get on with his career. You never like to see a young kid that’s trying to make his way to the Major Leagues sit around too long. He’s only had a few innings here. That’s not good for anybody’s career, so we made a decision sooner rather than later.”

Terry Doyle clearly impressed more than the White Sox with his strong 2011 Arizona Fall League showing.

The right-hander was selected by Minnesota with the second pick in Thursday morning’s Rule 5 Draft, after posting a 4-0 record with a 1.98 ERA over eight starts for the Mesa Solar Sox. Doyle had an 8-10 mark with a 3.07 ERA in 2011, combined numbers between stops at Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, while striking out 122 and walking just 33 in 173 innings. …

“The separator for us was command,” vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff said. “We saw him in the AFL thoroughly, and he kind of dominated out there (4-0, 1.98). We had a lot of history with him, good report from him in college. The durability was another strong point.

“We had some concerns in the past where his fastball velocity was marginal. It’s hard to judge that in Arizona, for a variety of reasons, but we saw average velocity this year, which was important. His command is good, his makeup is good, and we think he’s got the ability to be a fourth or fifth starter.”

Doyle is a righthander with guile who lacks a plus pitch but knows how to set up hitters. He helped his chances of being picked with an excellent Arizona Fall League performance. He certainly understands the geometry of pitching, consistently getting outs with his command and a cut fastball. Doyle’s 88-92 fastball did pick up as the season progressed and he touched 93-94 mph in Arizona. Doyle confuses hitters who don’t know him, as he often pitches backward, using breaking pitches to set up his fastball. He throws four pitches for strikes, including a biting slider and a high-70s changeup.

December 7, 2011

Several major league scouts believe that White Sox minor league pitcher Terry Doyle will be drafted in Thursday’s Rule 5 draft.

Those scouts said Doyle’s stock soared in the Arizona Fall League, where he was 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 22 strikeouts and only five walks in 27 1/3 innings for the Peoria Solar Sox. Doyle, 26, was a combined 8-10 with a 3.07 ERA with 122 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 173 innings at Class-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. …

If you’re looking for a strong arm with a reasonably high ceiling and a bit of projection remaining, Rienzo might be the right choice for you. Signed out of Brazil in 2006, he’s more raw than his age would suggest, given that country’s still-emerging baseball infrastructure. Still, he’s got good arm strength, with a fastball that sits in the low 90s, and his lean build suggests additional physical projection. Rienzo also throws a sharp-breaking curveball and is working on a changeup, though the latter is more promising than useful at this point. Command and control are still a work in progress as well, as he walked 66 batters in 116 innings last year. He’s got some mechanical flaws, which contributed to the command issues, but they may be correctable with work and instruction as he’s regarded as a good athlete who just needs more experience. He was named to the Carolina League’s mid-season All-Star team last year, before missing about two weeks with elbow pain, but after some rest was able to return at full strength with no ill effects.

At this point, Rienzo is not ready to hold a significant role in the major leagues. At the same time, given his age and inexperience, he’s not going to be able to afford to spend an entire season nailed to a chair in a bullpen. He has a fairly high ceiling as a starting pitcher, but getting him enough work that he can stay sharp and improve his skills without letting MLB hitters tee off on him and crush his confidence is going to be a difficult balancing act for the player development staff of any team inclined to select him.

Andre Rienzo RHP CWS (23) – Signed as a free agent in 2006 out of Brazil, Rienzo has almost completed his second full season of baseball in the states. Before that, he spent more of his career in the DSL, where he’s been a strikeout machine. This season in Winston-Salem Dash, he scores a 3.27 ERA, allowing 105 hits, 41 earned runs, 114 strikeouts in 113 innings. The Thrill from Brazil (someone actually hung that on him) uses a overpowering mid- to late-90s fastball to maintain an exciting 22.9 strikeout rate. Then all the excitement dies down what you see that he walked 63 batters this year, posting an ugly 12.7 walk rate from last year’s more manageable 7.4 rate. There are some whispers about an elbow injury that may have affected those numbers, so there is hope. But with his secondary pitches just coming along, he currently has bullpen written all over him. It’s also encouraging that he has a FIP of 3.42, showing that his current ERA is real with that ugly walk rate and that cutting down those walks will do wonders. We’ll keep an eye on the development of the secondary pitches too.

December 10, 2009

The White Sox didn’t select nor lose a player in the major league phase of Thursday morning’s Rule 5 draft. In the minor league phase, Washington selected pitcher Arismendy Mota and the New York Mets took Johnny Lujan from the Sox’s Double-A Birmingham roster. The Sox will receive $24,000 from those selections.

The Yankee$ lost Kanekoa Texeira to the Mariners, a relieve pitcher the Sox send to the Yankee$ in the Nick Swisher trade last year.